When all truth is uncovered
by Lil em 04
Summary: When Marinette's dream day turns into a nightmare, her life spirals out of control. Marinette doesn't know what to do, neither does a certain cat themed super hero. His Lady is not herself, but why? Includes self hate and PTSD. And of course, a reveal!
1. Truth revealed

**Hello there, just a quick authors not, firstly thank you so much for reading, and I hope you enjoy the story! Also, this story contains some self hate, so please don't read if that is something you are not comfortable with. Cool cools!**

**Chapter 1: Truth revealed**

Marinette stood in front of the bathroom mirror, trying to make her hair look presentable. Today was a big day, and she didn't want to let a bad appearance ruin it for her. Everything had to be perfect. She had changed her usual outfit. Now she wore a yellow T-shirt, a white skirt, and a denim jacket. She replaced her pink ballet flats with black high tops, and was even changing her hairstyle. _Trying_ to change her hair style. She had let it out, so it sat just below her shoulders, and was attempting to curl the ends. She had finished the last curl when she heard a loud noise. More like a loud voice.

"Marinette, hurry, you are going to be late for school!" Called her mother, from the bottom of the stairs.

"Coming Mama!" Replied Marinette, as she grabbed the necklace from her bedside table. This necklace held the charm that Tikki had made for Marinette, for her birthday. She hurriedly put it on, whilst running to the car. She grabbed her bag off the table, which she has thankfully packed the night before, and launched herself into the car. With a slam of the door she shouted "Let's go!" And her father took off down the street. The ride to school was stressful. Marinette was so determined to make this day the best, and she really didn't want to stuff it up. She mentally repeated the lines she has practiced over and over again in front of the mirror. They were burned into memory now, she knew the only thing that could get in the way were her nerves. After what seemed like forever, the car stopped in front of the school. "Thanks Papa!" Marinette yelled, as she sprinted to her classroom, not wanting to be late. She flung the classroom door open, just as the bell rang. Heaving a sigh of relief she made her way to her usual seat, next to Alya, who was staring at her quizzically.

"You look nice today." Alya said suspiciously.

"Why thank you!" Marinette replied. "So do you." Alya continued staring.

"Why the new outfit?" The girl said. Marinette blushed.

"Today is a big day. I'm -"

"Marinette. Alya. Enough talking. Save it for lunch." Ordered Miss Bustier. The two girls nodded. The lesson continued. Marinette remembered none of it. She was too busy staring at the golden hair in front of her. She continued revising her speech in her head, and was constantly adjusting her skirt. She started drawing doodles in her margins, which she hurriedly erased when Alya tried to take a look.

And then the bell rang. Marinette felt herself beaming form ear to ear. She was ready. Putting on a confident face, the teen ignored Alya's glances, and made her way to her target. She was careful about how she put one foot in front of the other, ensuring that she wouldn't trip over herself. And then she was there. For once in her life, she wasn't 100% nervous. Because she was happy. And she was excited.

"Hi Marinette!" The boy said. Marinette took a deep breath. Now or never.

"Hi Adrien. There's something that I need to tell you. I have kept this in for a while, but its time for me to let it out. I think you are amazing. Ever since the day you leant me your umbrella, I have never gotten over how wonderful you are. Adrien. I have feelings for you. I really like you!" She ended blushing, but was dancing on the inside. She had done it. She had finally done it. Not one stutter. The classroom roared (except for Chloe). Alya's was the loudest of all. She stared into the boys mesmerizing green eyes. The class quietened down.

"Marinette, you are a really nice girl. And you look really pretty today. But I don't have feelings for you." She felt her heart drop. Did she hear him right? She took her eyes off him, feeling her throat tighten. He continued. "I just want to be good friends with you. Because you are a great friend after all!" She couldn't speak. No words came out. Her hands felt shaky, her legs numb. She couldn't fully process what was going on. Had Adrien just...rejected her? No. This wasn't happening. Surely this was some sort of nightmare.

"Oh." Was all she could make out. She felt like she had fallen on her stomach and was winded. She couldn't do this. She felt the classes pitiful stares, all on her. She walked out of the room, without a word, and headed to the only place where people wouldn't find her. Only it wasn't a place. It was a suit. A red spotted suit.

"Spots on." She told the kwami. In a flash, Marinette was gone. Replacing her, was Paris's favorite hero. Ladybug. She flung her yoyo and caught it on the side of a rooftop. She flew after it, landing on her feet, on the roof of a classroom. She didn't cry. She held back the waterfalls that were threatening to erupt. Now that she was Ladybug she had to be the roll model. She couldn't have people seeing her crying. The students flooded out of the classrooms, all ready for lunch. As Ladybug watched her own class come out, she noticed everyone looking grumpy. Alya especially. Adrien hung towards the back of the group, Chloe hanging onto him tightly. The others didn't seem to want to notice. They just ignored it. Ladybug noticed Alya and Nino coming towards her. The blogger had an eye for the bug, and almost certainly wanted a scoop. But today, Ladybug was in no mood of an interview. Alya waved at Ladybug. The heroine reluctantly swung down off the roof.

"Look." She began. "I'm not doing an interview today. Maybe another -"

"Ladybug I don't want an interview!" Alya sounded distressed. "My friend Marinette just ran out of our classroom. Did you see where she went." Ladybug felt touched by how much Alya cared for her.

"No." She lied. Alya looked nervous.

"Its just, she was really upset, and I'm afraid she might become prey for one of Hawkmoth's Akumas!" Ladybug shook her head.

"I'll make sure she doesn't!" She replied.

"Ok," Said Alya sadly. "I have to go look for her now. Bye Ladybug!" Alya ran off. However Nino stayed where he was.

"Have seen Marinette at all today?" He asked. Ladybug shook her head.

"Then how did you copy her new hairstyle that well." She froze.

"There was this...tutorial. Yes on...the internet, on how to do this hairstyle. We must have...looked at the same one!" She blabbered. Nino shrugged.

"Ok. It looks nice! See ya dude!" He called out, as he ran after Alya.

"That was a close call." Ladybug said out loud. She knew that Alya would be running to her house, looking for her. Groaning to herself, she realized that to avoid suspicion, she had to change back. Annoyed, she slid down the rooftop and behind a classroom, out of sight.

"Spots off." She whispered as the transformation faded away. "Let's go find Alya!" She said softly to Tikki. The kwami nodded in agreement. Marinette ran out from behind the classroom, trying not to be seen. She looked down, avoiding eye contact with anyone who came past. Unfortunately, it also meant avoiding any spacial awareness. She bumped into 2 students and fell on her butt. One offered to help her up, but she didn't take the hand, rather lifting herself off the ground with her own arms. She looked up to see who it was and almost threw up. It was the 2 people she wanted to see the least.

"Eww! Mari-trash, you ruined my shoes!" The blonde brat shrieked.

"I didn't even touch your dumb shoes Chloe!" Marinette shot back.

"But you breathed on them!" She whined. Marinette rolled her eyes. Her white skirt had a brown smear on it, from the patch of dirt she fell in. The curls were all gone, and her high tops were all muddy. Trying not to look at the brat or the model, she hurried off towards her house, once again choking back tears. She ignored the laughed from Chloe, and the stares from other students. Most of all, she ignored Adrien's attempts to get her to talk to him. She power walked towards her house, still keeping her eyes on the pavement. It was all good and well for 10 minutes. She had 2 more minutes until she finally arrived home. But Marinette forgot about constantly looking up so she wouldn't fall again. She bumped into someone and braced for impact, but it never came. Two sets of firm hands steadied her, and helped her stand back up. Marinette didn't want to look at the two, but she knew they didn't deserve that. After all, Alya and Nino were her best friends.

"Mari!" Alya cried. "I've been looking for you everywhere!" She grabbed the bluenette and wrapped her in a bear hug. "I'm so sorry, Adrien was such a jerk for saying no. As if anyone could say no to you!" Marinette remained quiet, knowing that speaking would make the tears flow. She just nodded, and enjoyed the warmth of Alya's arms around her. "Let's get you home girl." She said comfortingly. Marinette walked between Nino and Alya. They avoided the topic for the time being. They kept telling Marinette how good her macrons are. Alya told her about how Ladybug was at their school. Nino told her that they had the same hairstyle, which Marinette acted surprised at. Eventually they reached the Dupain Cheng bakery. They entered, and saw Sabine working at the counter. She looked up and saw the three.

"Hello you three!" She said. "I wasn't expecting you here today. Marinette, dear, there are some croissants that you can give your friends, just in the fridge there."

"Ok Mama." Marinette said as she pulled out a box of goods from the fridge. She inclined for her friends to follow her up to her room where they sat up on her bed.

"Um, can I asked you guys a question?" Marinette said. The two nodded. "What happened after I, well, left?" Alya and Nino exchanged worried glances.

"Well," Nino began. Alya cut him off.

"There's no way to put this nicely. I flipped out at him." Marinette's eyes were wide with shock.

"You did what now?" She yelled.

"Well, I told him that I didn't understand how he could say no to someone as awesome as you, and then I kind of ranted about how you are so nice to him and how you had been planning this forever and so on." Alya said sheepishly.

"And then Rose started crying!" Exclaimed Nino. "And she was upset because you looked upset and then Chloe started bullying Rose and then Juleka stood up for Rose and then Alix started yelling at Chloe and then Kim started yelling at at Alix and Alya and Adrien were arguing and I was telling people to shut up and -"

"It was a big hot mess!" Admitted Alya.

"And it was all my fault!" Whispered Marinette anxiously.

"No, no girl it was...everyone's fault." Said Alya.

"You're just saying that to make me feel better!" Marinette fired back. Alya was about to reply when a scream cut them off. The three instinctively ran up onto the balcony. It seemed like Hawkmoth has found another Akuma victim.

"At least its not you Mari." Said Alya. "I for one was seriously worried!" Marinette managed a half smile. "I'm going to get some live footage for the Ladyblog!" Called Alya, already running back down. Marinette looked at Nino awkwardly, trying to figure out a good excuse to leave abruptly. He winked at her.

"Go save Paris!" The boy said.

"See you soon...wait what did you just say?" Asked Marinette, mildly terrified.

"I would advise you to put your hair back in signature pigtails, while you're Ladybug at least." The boy offered. Hurriedly grabbing two hair ties and fixing her hair, Marinette stared at Nino in shock.

"We are having a thorough conversation when I get back!" She told him. He nodded, laughing slightly.

"Ok sure. But can I please see you transform?" Marinette waved her finger at him.

"Fine. But as a one off. You hear me? One off." She rolled her eyes. "Spots on!" Nino gasped. The whole room filled with blinding pink lights, he could only see the outline of the girl, but it was enough to tell that something magical was happening. When the transformation was over, there stood Ladybug. "See you soon!" She said, before jumping off the balcony, and swinging through the streets of Paris.


	2. Heroes fight, class unite

Chapter 2: Heroes fight, class unite

"Nice of you to drop in Bugaboo." Said Cat Noir, as Ladybug dropped next to him, on a nearby rooftop.

"What have I told you about calling me things like that? Cut it out, this is serious!" Cat Noir's ears drooped. His Lady was not in the mood for fun and games.

"From what I can gather," He began. "The victim is cross because some guy rejected her. I reckon that the Akuma is in her necklace, the one with the heart." Ladybug sighed. This was exactly what she needed. Just more things to remind her of this mornings events.

"Great." She mumbled. "What are her powers?"

"She touches people. They fall in love with her and obey her." Said Cat Noir.

"I wish I had that power." Ladybug whispered to herself, forgetting Cat Noir had exceptional hearing.

"What do you mean?"

"Let's just get this over with." Ladybug knew that he was just worried for her, but she really wasn't in the mood.

The two hero's jumped off the roof and landed in front of the villain.

"I know you're still in there Marinette!" Cat Noir told the villain.

"What?!" Exclaimed Ladybug. "Um, hate to burst your bubble, but that's not Marinette!" She told her partner.

"Oh." He said awkwardly. "Whatever. I know you're still in there random civilian!" Any other day Ladybug would have chuckled. But not today. She was not in a laughing mood. They tried attacking without getting too close, but it was no use. The victim had made an army of civilians to fight for her.

"Let's use our powers!" Exclaimed Car Noir.

"Cataclysm!"

"Lucky charm! A fishing rod? What am I supposed to do with this?" _Hook it onto Adrien and drag him over so you can punch him?_ She thought. Momentarily distracted, she was shocked when she heard:

"Ladybug look out!" She barley had time to register the Akuma victim, her hand headed straight for Ladybug. But then her kitty was in front of her, taking the blow.

"Nooo!" She yelled. "Pull it together!" She told herself. She formulated a plan, and after dodging many punches from Cat Noir, she spun the fishing rod like a lasso. As she let it fly, it felt like time slowed down. The hook caught on the necklace. Ladybug pulled hard, and the necklace snapped in two, releasing a purple butterfly. Ladybug unenthusiastically cleansed the Akuma, and used her miraculous Ladybug power to put Paris back to normal. Cat Noir came back to his senses and looked around.

"M-m-mlady, what happened?" He asked.

"I was being useless and got distracted by a jerk, you took a hit for me the end." She said, half heartedly. She began to walk away when she felt a hand grab her wrist. Upon instinct, she turned around and karate kicked the human, pinning them to the ground. She looked down and saw a very worried Cat Noir.

"Oh, sorry kitty, I didn't realize it was you, I'm really tired -"

"M'lady what is up?" He asked, forcedly, simultaneously getting up.

"Nothing that you need to worry about!" She said angrily, poking him in the chest. She must have poked to hard because Cat Noir wobbled back a few steps. "I'm sorry, just let me go home now!" She said, as she flew after her yoyo, over the rooftops and out of sight.

Ladybug made her way home slowly, she was in no rush.

_Gosh Marinette, you were so useless back there, you were only thinking of your problems, not the whole of Paris._ She thought. You are probably the worst Ladybug in the history of Ladybugs! If Cat Noir could cleanse Akumas, he would be better off without you.

But Cat Noir can't cleanse Akumas! The other side of her brain said. You can't leave him by himself, the whole of Paris depends on it!

"Stupid kitty!" She murmured as she dropped onto her balcony. "Spots off." And her transformation was no more. "Nino I'm back!" She called out as she walked down the ladder, back into her room. Nino sat on the bed, staring intently at his phone. "Nino?"

"Explain this." The boy said, handing Marinette the phone. A video from the Ladyblog was playing. It was when she accidentally karate kicked Cat Noir, and the after mark.

"Its nothing." She said.

"Liar. Mari tell me what is up with you and Cat Noir." Marinette sighed in defeat.

"The Akuma today was someone who had been rejected by a boy. Cat Noir thought it was me. As in me as Marinette. I guess I was really out of it, and at the end, he tried to confront me about it. I didn't want to talk." She explained. Nino rubbed his forehead.

"Dude, I think Cat Noir deserves to know. He's obviously concerned about you, and it sucks being brushed off. You don't have to tell him everything, but I'm sure he will understand."

"I feel bad about what I did, maybe I should ring him." She said.

"You have his phone number?" Nino questioned.

"Not exactly..."

Cat Noir was almost home, when he hear a ringing sound emerge from his silver baton. Why was Ladybug ringing him after what just happened? At first he debated answering. But he wanted to do what was best for his partner, so he clicked the green phone icon.

"Do I speak with Ladybug?"

"Um, yes, t-thats me." Something was off.

"You sound different."

"I'm not transformed."

"Then how are you ringing me."

"Its a...long story. But that's not why I called you." Cat Noir's brain was bursting with possibilities. Why was she calling him? "I'm sorry for how I treated you earlier." His hand instinctively went to the spot on his chest where she had poked him (rather harshly) earlier. "I'm just...not myself."

"That's okay." Cat Noir replied. "Can you tell me what happened." A pause.

"I, I guess. But not all of it."

"Fine by me. Spill." He heard her take a deep breath. It sounded familiar...no, back to listening to Ladybug.

"I, actually got rejected today. By someone I really liked. That's why the Akuma had me so shaken up, it was...relatable." That certainly made sense.

"Thank you for telling me M'lady." He said.

"Thank you for being there for me. Um, I have to go now, see you later Kitty!"

"Goodbye princess!"

Marinette put down her phone, looking at Nino for support.

"I'm so proud of you Marinette!" He said, then put his arm around her shoulder, in a comforting way. "And whether you have a mask on or not, I will always have your back!" She let her head rest on his shoulder.

"Thanks dude." She said quietly. What would she do without Nino? They sat their for a while. Marinette cried a bit at one stage. Nino just sat there, being the all important shoulder to cry on. Quite literally. A short while later, Alya was back.

"You're not trying to steal my guy are you?" She said, threateningly. Marinette giggled, despite the flowing tears.

"I wouldn't dream of it." She said kindly. The three laughed. They stayed there for hours. School had been canceled thanks to the Akuma attack. Eventually Alya and Nino had to leave. They hadn't talked much about the Adrien situation. But they cheered her up, for sure.

That night Marinette went to bed early. She didn't tell her parents about it, she didn't want them to worry. So, she cried herself to sleep, knowing she was a useless Ladybug, and a hopeless Marinette.

Beep! Beep! Beep! A very sleepy Marinette slammed her hand on her alarm clock, silencing it. She groaned loudly and buried her face in her pillow. If ever she dreaded going to school, today was the day. She dragged herself out of bed, with much encouraging from Tikki. She trudged through her morning routine. Today, she wore much plainer clothes, a gray T-shirt with black leggings. Eventually she found herself at the bottom of the staircase, that lead into the school. She stared at the structure in front of her, wondering how long she could procrastinate for. That was until the black limo pulled up behind her. The sight of the limo alone made her jump. She ran at top speed towards her classroom. Eventually, she reached the door. She felt her hand hover over the silver door handle. She couldn't do this. She didn't notice the figure approaching the door from the other side until it was too late. Chloe Bourgeois flung the door open, hitting Marinette. The girl fell hard on her side, but picked herself up soon after.

"Marinette Dupain Cheng! What a clumsy excuse for a girl. No wonder Adrien rejected you!" The blonde teased. "Ooh! Have you seen all my social media. I posted this picture of you, and everyone thought it was hilarious!" Said Chloe, holding out her phone. Marinette stared at the screen in shock. On it was a picture of her running away, with a dirty smear on her white skirt. She held back tears, knowing that it was only a matter of time before they fell. Chloe laughed to herself. "I'm doing you a favor. One day you will be famous! For your clumsiness and bad taste in fashion!" She grimaced. "Toodles!" She said, strutting back to he seat. Marinette didn't know what to feel as she sat down next to Alya. She was still having trouble grasping reality. Was she really that ugly? She looked down at her clothes, wondering if all this time, Chloe was right.

She didn't make any eye contact with the green eyes that entered the room shortly after. The whole class was awkward. Everyone was staring at Adrien, the Marinette, then Chloe, as she screamed "ADRIKINS!" Adrien sat down without a word next to Nino. Nino didn't say a word either. Alya just glared at the boy. So, Marinette slumped down on the desk, covering her face, not wanting to see or be seen. Alya nudged her.

"If he tries to get anywhere near you." She began. "He will have to go through me!" Marinette smiled slightly.

"Not the Alya wrath! He'd better watch out!" They both giggled quietly. Nino turned around and shook his head knowingly.

"You're up to something aren't you. That's the cheeky giggle." Or course that just set the girls off more and they had the whole class (including Adrien) staring at them oddly. They choked down their laugher as Miss Bustier called for the classes attention.

"Class! Settle down!" She called. "Today's lesson will be a little different. Due to yesterdays Akuma attack, every school must have a lesson on dealing with rejection, in the highschool years." Everyone groaned, Marinette's the loudest. Marinette's hand flew up.

"Miss I need to go to the bathroom!" She said. The teacher gave her the 'this lesson is meant for you especially' look.

"Marinette can it wait?" Before the girl could reply, someone else spoke up.

"Miss, I think that you should make Mari-trash, I mean Marinette stay, after what happened yesterday with her and Adrien!" Said Chloe the brat. Adrien flushed and looked down.

"Chloe!" Began Miss Bustier. "That was extremely disrespectful!" The girl just rolled her eyes and adjusted her hair.

"Miss, I'm busting!" Said Marinette. That was true. Her eyes were busting to let out all the emotion.

"Fine, but be quick please!" The teacher said, as Marinette ran out of the room. Alya and Miss Bustier were the only ones who saw the single tear that escaped before the girl was out the door.

"I need to go too!" Said Alya. She didn't even wait for the respond, she just ran out.

"Miss I'm about to pee my pants!" Said Nino, running out after Alya.

"My bladder is exploding!" Screamed Rose.

"Me too!" Exclaimed Alix.

"Miss please excuse me!" Came Adrien.

"I'm gonna throw up!"

"The toilet is calling me!"

"I think I left my books in the bathroom." The excuses got stranger and stranger but eventually Chloe and Sabrina were the only ones left in the classroom. Miss Bustier shook her head in disbelief, yet happiness. Either her class was insane, or they cared so much about each other. Probably both.

Marinette was shocked when she saw the whole class running out of the classroom. She was almost at the bathroom, when the class was on top of her, literally, in a massive group hug. The girls dragged her into the bathroom where they perched themselves on the sinks and sat cross legged on the tile floor. They laughed as they heard the boys debating whether or not to go into the girls bathroom. Eventually someone shoved Nino in. Nino grabbed another and one by one they were standing awkwardly staring at the girls.

"Hi there!" Said Alix. "Are you coming in or not?" Marinette felt awkward considering Adrien was there. But her girls were there, and if he made one slip up, they would be on to him. Alix continued.

"If they want a lesson on rejection, we can run it!" She said, as a cheer erupted. Alya stood up.

"Nino, babe, I want to dump you!" Nino froze for a second, then realized that she was just kidding.

"Oh Babe, that's totally fine!" He said, playing along. "We can still be great friends!" He winked at her.

"Cool dude!" Alya replied. Alix stood up confidentiality.

"Kim! Do you want to go on a date?" She said, over enthusiastically.

"Um, no thanks!" He replied loudly. "I'm in love with someone else!"

"Dude? Seriously?" Said Alix. "That's cool! Let's just be friends!"

"Sure dude!"

Mylene stood up timidly. "Ivan this relationship isn't working. Can we just be friends?"

"Of course! I just want you to be happy!" He replied in his deep voice. "You're not serious are you?" He whispered.

"Not at all!" The girl replied happily, giving Ivan a small kiss on the cheek.

"See guys!" Said Alix. She had definitely adapted to the teacher role. "We are teenagers! We overreact. So how about we just don't worry about rejection. After all, people can't help their feelings for others!" A cheer arose from the class. Marinette felt herself cheering too, although she felt it was partially fake. She saw Adrien, whose expression matched her own. They all jumped when they heard the door squeaked open. A red head popped through the door.

"Inspiring speech!" Miss Bustier applauded. "Nice work Alix!" The girl just stared at the teacher, with her hands on her hips. The teacher sighed. "Ok, fine so yes I lied. I just thought that a lesson like that would be beneficial to everyone. Especially after yesterday. And since Alix has so perfectly completed the lesson..." She smiled at the kids. "Class dismissed. Though I would advise you to not meet in the girls bathroom." The class erupted, as they poured out from the small room.

"Let's go to the park!" Someone yelled. Everyone followed in agreement. However Marinette felt quite numb. She didn't get why people would care so much for her. After all, she was useless, both with and without the earrings


	3. Cat is out of the bag

**Chapter 3: Cat is out of the bag**

The group of students had reached the park, just as Alya's phone made a loud ringing noise. The girl's eyes lit up as she stared at the screen.

"Look! A new Akuma!" She said excitedly. Marinette sighed. She really didn't want to have to do this again. It had better not be another kid who got rejected. The bluenette slipped away unnoticed, because everyone was staring at the phone in Alya's hand. When she was far enough away from the class, she crouched behind a bush and let Tikki out of her purse.

"How does Hawkmoth have this much energy?" She asked the kwami.

"Maybe he drinks loads of those energy drinks, or eats lots of chocolate?" The kwami offered, giggling.

"Tikki, spots on!" The girl transformed quickly, before launching herself onto a rooftop and observing the situation. She could see, and hear the chaos. Red and green lasers were shooting, and civilians were screaming. Ladybug raced down to the class, who were gathered still gathered in the park.

"You have to leave and seek cover!" She told them. "Alya," she began, ready to tell the girl to follow her classmates. But the pout on her best friends face was too much. "Don't get to close." She said with a wink. The girl grinned happily.

"Thanks Ladybug!"

The hero shot towards the chaos, Alya running after her. Ladybug jumped down and found herself standing right in front of the Akuma victim. The villain saw Ladybug and began his speech.

"I am Laser Shooter, and no one will ever beat me in laser tag again!" He cried.

"Seriously?" Taunted Ladybug. "Sound like you're just a sore loser." Laser Shooter had ruby red hair, wore typical laser tag gear and carried a gun. The gun! Ladybug thought. That's where the Akuma must be! A black blur dropped next to her.

"M'lady." Cat Noir greeted.

"Akuma is in the gun." She stated. Laser Shooter laughed, and aimed his weapon at Ladybug. She jumped out of the way, missing it my millimeters. The two hero's fought Laser Shooter for ages, but couldn't seem to get close to the gun. Ladybug dodged another laser, but didn't see the civilian behind her until it was too late.

"Lady-" Alya began, before she became paralyzed by the laser.

"No, Alya!" Ladybug gasped. She had just let a civilian get hurt! She was such a bad Ladybug!

"Lucky charm!" She cried, throwing her yoyo high in the air. When it came down, her lucky charm fell into her outstretched hands. "A dog toy?" She said, looking down at the rubber dumbbell she held. "That's such a lame, useless unlucky charm! Like me!"_ Oh no_. She thought. She had just said that out loud! Lucky no one heard! Distracted, she didn't see Laser Shooter aiming at her, until it was too late. She shielded herself with the chew toy, bracing for impact. Instead, the laser bounced off the toy, and hit a nearby wall. "Of course!" She exclaimed. "Cat Noir, the ground!" Her partner understood immediately.

"Cataclysm!" He yelled. As the destructive power built up in his hand, he slammed it into the ground, near Laser Shooter. The villain tripped, and shot randomly. Ladybug threw the toy with extreme accuracy. The laser hit it, and bounced off, hitting Laser Shooter. The villain moved no more, and Ladybug took the gun and snapped it. A purple butterfly emerged. She cleansed it in seconds.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" She cried, as magical Ladybugs surrounded them. Everything was restored back to how it was before. She was about to leave when she heard Cat Noir talking to her.

"Pound it?" He asked, wondering why she hadn't already. Ladybug looked at the outstretched fist. She didn't deserve a partner like Cat Noir. She continued staring at the anticipating fist. Eventually he brought his arm down in defeat.

"Alright then." He said, obviously offended. "I guess you won't tell me what's up with you either." Ladybug was taken aback.

"Nothings wrong, I'm fine, just getting over yesterday." She lied.

"That's such a lame, useless unlucky charm! Like me!" Cat Noir quoted, putting on a higher pitched voice. "M'lady I have cats hearing. I pick up on these things!" He said. "Or in yesterday's Akuma. 'I wish I had that power!' Yes I heard that one too."

"Its nothing!" She replied, exasperated.

"Liar!" Cat Noir said. "Nobody is useless!" Ladybug laughed.

"Think again."

"What?"

"Look I don't want to talk about it, just leave me alone!" She said, her anger rising.

"Why don't you trust me?" Cat Noir replied. Ladybug didn't detect the hurt that laced his voice.

"I don't need to tell you everything okay?" She said madly. "Its not like you do!" Cat Noir sighed. That was true. But at least he wasn't taking it out on his partner. He had wanted to tell her, but he had never found the time.

"Because you never asked!" He told her, in the 'hint hint' manner. Either she was extremely oblivious, or didn't care.

"Like you have had things going on in your life!" She fired. "The only bad thing happening to you is that you have to hear your own puns!" He gulped. His puns were meant to cheer himself, and Ladybug up. Maybe they were a bit to much.

"Shows how much you care about me." He whispered.

"Speak up, I can't hear you when you mumble!" She said, frustratedly.

"I said it shows how much you care about me!" He said, shouting now. He knew that anything he said would make things worse, so he shot up to a roof with his stick. He sat there, watching Ladybug. She growled, then stormed away. He knew better than to follow her. Instead, he leapt down from the rooftop,and let go of his transformation, heading back to the park as Adrien Agreste.

Neither hero saw that blogger who caught the entire fight on camera. Live. On the Ladyblog.

Marinette walked back to the park, plastering on a fake smile. She was so mad at Cat Noir, he needed to know when to stop, her personal life was none of his business! She saw Nino running up to her hurriedly.

"Marinette, you have to see this!" He said, thrusting the phone into her hands. The video played, beginning with Alya's face.

"Yes that's right Ladybug fans, I just got hit by one of the villain's lasers! But I'm all good now, thanks to the miraculous - wait what's this?" The camera moved bumpily, until Marinette saw herself and Cat Noir on the screen. The video continued playing. "Did you just see that? Ladybug rejected Cat Noir's fist pump!" Marinette pushed the phone away, not wanting to see anymore.

"Dude." Said Nino. "You gonna tell me what this is about, or reject my help like you did to Cat Noir?" At the word 'reject' Marinette lost it.

"Why does everyone think I'm some weakling? I can handle things myself!" And with that she stormed off and out of sight. Seconds later, Nino saw a red super heroine zooming towards Marinette's house. As the boy began to walk away, he saw Adrien arriving.

"Dude!" He exclaimed. "Where have you been?"

"I was paralyzed by the laser guy!" Adrien responded.

"Wait...did you see where Cat Noir went, I need to ask him something." The boy froze.

"Yes, I, I will go get him now bye!" He stammered and ran away. Nino didn't question it. He stood there for around a minute, when a black cat hero came towards him.

"You wanted to see me?" Cat Noir said.

"Yes, uh," Nino began to wish he had prepared beforehand. "Its about Ladybug." The hero's expression turned serious. "I know who she is." Cat Noir choked.

"She told you her identity?"

"No, I figured it out." The boy told him. "And I've talked with her about the...rejection bit," he chose his words carefully. "But not about whatever she was talking about today. I've never seen her like this before."

"Can you give her a message for me?" Asked Cat Noir.

"Um, okay, sure I guess." Nino replied.

"Tell her I'm sorry. For how I acted today. I guess I pushed too hard." Nino could hear the sadness in his words. The poor hero was confused, and unable to help his partner. Nino winked.

"No problem dude!" He told Cat Noir.

"I should go now." The hero said. "See you around." He flew away, extending his baton, and leaping over rooftops. Adrien came running a minute later.

"Dude." Said Nino. He would be lying if he said he wasn't suspicious. "Where have you been?" The blonde flushed red.

"I, uh, shops, hungry -" Nino cut him off.

"Adrien." He said sternly. "Show me your ring." Adrien's eyes opened wide. He reluctantly held up his hand, displaying the wonder. He looked at the ground, not wanting to make eye contact with Nino. Reality hit Nino in a second.

"You're Cat..." Adrien held up his hand.

"You can't tell anyone! Especially not Alya! If she found out -"

"Oh no. No no no, this is bad this is very very bad oh no...Adrien, you need to stay away from Ladybug." She teen warned.

"I can't! I have to get to know her better, otherwise I would have rejected Marinette for nothing." The blond replied.

"WHAT!?" You rejected Marinette for Ladybug!?" Nino screamed.

"Shhh Nino keep it down!" Adrien ushered.

"You did WHAT NOW?" Alya ran up to the boys. Adrien glared at Nino.

"You mean to tell me," The girl began angrily. "That you rejected Marinette for some CELEBRITY crush?"

"Ummm, yes." Adrien said slowly.

"I never want to see your face again! I'm going to tell everyone about this crush of yours!" She strutted away. Adrien slumped.

"Why does everyone hate me? Its not like I can help my feelings for a girl!" He whispered. Nino felt like a wall had been removed between him and Adrien. He finally understood everything. Everyone was comforting Marinette, but no one was looking at Adrien, who was miserable deep down inside. He was loosing everyone who cares about him. His father. Marinette. Alya. And now his Lady. Nino was the only one left. The beeping horn of a black limousine interrupted them.

"Bye Nino."Adrien said shakily. Nino waved to his friend.

"See ya dude."

Marinette sat in her room, writing a list of all her flaws. She started with things like lame, useless, clumsy, and ventured into things like underweight, ugly hair, and bad posture. A ringing sound distracted her. Alya was calling. Hesitantly, she answered the call.

"Hello?" She said lazily.

"Girl you will not believe what I just learned about Adrien!" Alya began.

"Is this about Adrien?" Marinette asked.

"Well, yes, but -" A small beep filled the room as Marinette hung up on her friend. She continued her list. Untalented, boring, selfish...

Ring ring. Ring ring.

"I sware if this is Alya again I will strangle someone." Marinette said. She reached for her phone and saw that it was not Alya. It was, in fact Nino.

She wasn't ready to talk to Nino yet. Not after she blew up at him like that. She ignored the phone until it stopped ringing.

Irresponsible, disrespectful, embarrassing, the list went on.

"Marinette?" She heard her mother call.

"Yes Mama?" She replied.

"Can you come down for a quick moment please?" Marinette groaned quietly, then followed her mothers instructions. She was shocked by what she saw when she came down the stairs.


	4. Secrets spilled

_**Hey guys, firstly I just wanted to say thanks so much for reading this! I really do appreciate it. I would also love it so much if you can review it. I know that this story is far from perfect, so I would love some feedback. Thank you! I hope you enjoy.**_

**Chapter 4: Secrets spilled**

There stood an angry Alya, a nervous Nino, and an awkward Adrien.

"Nope!" Yelled Marinette, before running back up the stairs. She ignored her friends protests. However Marinette's friends weren't the giving up kind. Marinette ran up to her bed, and sat on it cross legged, hoping she wouldn't be followed. She almost thought she had got away with it.

Then the trapdoor opened. And her three classmates came in. Alya spotted her immediately.

"Marinette, where were you, I thought you had gotten caught by the Akuma or something!" Alya yelled.

"I came straight back here! To seek cover!" Marinette lied. Alya bought it.

"Okay, but next time tell me, I was so worried!" Marinette nodded.

"Uh, Mari," Began Nino. "Can you come down?"

"Nope. No, no no thanks!" She exclaimed.

"Why not?" He asked. Marinette glared at him.

"You know why not!" She said. She didn't mean to glare at Adrien, but she did. He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I can go now, I get it," he said, already nearing the trapdoor.

"Nah! You're not going anywhere!" Yelled Alya, grabbing his arm. She pulled too hard, and they both fell over.

"Alya!" Cried Adrien, pulling himself up using Marinette's desk. He caught sight of a sheet that Marinette had left out.

"What's this?" He asked. At first Marinette feared that he had seen the photos of him. Then she remembered that she had shredded them after the rejection. Phew! Alya crept towards Adrien and snatched the paper out of his hands.

"Hey!" He exclaimed, as Alya held it out of his reach. The blogger began reading it. Marinette still didn't know what it was.

"Marinette, who wrote this?" She asked worriedly, holding up the sheet for Marinette to see. She squinted, then recognized it. It was her list.

"Put that back!" She yelled, launching herself off the bed.

"Who wrote it?" Demanded Adrien.

"Doesn't matter!" Shouted Marinette, as she grabbed the paper out of Alya's grasp. She scampered back up to her bed, frowning at the three. "You weren't supposed to see that!" She scolded.

"I know who wrote it." Alya said softly. She pointed towards Marinette. "You did." Marinette felt numb inside. She needed to work on less recognizable handwriting.

"Get out of my room!" The bluenette ordered. Adrien and Alya walked out reluctantly. Nino stayed put. Marinette turned to face a wall. It was once filled with pictures of Adrien. Now, it was designs. So many designs. She didn't notice Nino climbing up the ladder until he was right next to her.

"Cat Noir had a message for you." He said.

"Do I want to hear it?" She asked. Nino shrugged, but still continued.

"He said that he was very sorry. He didn't mean to push to hard."

"Cool." Marinette said, distractedly.

"Do you mind, if I take a look at the paper?" Nino asked.

"Well Alya and Adrien would tell you anyway." She said, handing the sheet to him. "Go ahead." Nino stared intently at the list titled 'Marinette'. After a minute or so, he spoke up.

"You wrote this?" He asked. Her answer was evident by the silence. Nino wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"You know you're the only person in the while world who thinks this is true." He told her soothingly.

"Chloe does." She replied blatantly.

"Chloe also thinks she is Ladybug." Nino said. "Is this all because of the rejection?" Marinette covered her face in her hands.

"I don't know. I honestly can't be sure of anything anymore. Chloe was the only one who said that I had no chance with Adrien, she was right! What if she was right about everything."

"Marinette stop!" Said Nino strictly. "You can't let her get in your head! You can't Marinette!"

"But its so hard! I have no idea what to do, I feel so...lost." She whimpered. "And now I've lost Cat Noir too because I let my anger take over me! And on top of that, I'm failing at all my Ladybug duties. I let Alya get hit today! Cat Noir is always saving me. I'm getting horrible grades because of it."

"But..." Said Nino, interrupting her. "Your also a kind and caring friend of mine. You have saved Paris every single time an Akuma struck! I for one believe in you."

"Thanks Nino. That - that means a lot." She whispered.

"Do you want to talk to the others?"

"I don't know. Not by myself. Could you help me with it?" Nino nodded at her.

"Of course dude, I'll go get them."

Marinette waited anxiously, as Nino went to find the two. She had no plans of what to say, or how to respond. She was going impromptu. The three entered the room.

"Girl, what was that about?!" Asked Alya exasperatedly. Marinette wanted the ground to swallow her up, so that she didn't have to face Alya's wrath.

"I, uh, um I -" Marinette stammered nervously.

"Dude!" Nino said to Alya. "Take a chill pill. You don't just rock up and start screaming!" Marinette looked at Nino thankfully.

"Ok." Said Alya. "Sorry Mari. Did you want to say anything first?" Marinette began to stutter.

"I, um, yes, no, sorry, I, I'm sorry." She said, trailing off at the end.

"Cool." Said Alya. "So tell me now, did you write that list?" Marinette felt herself nodding slowly. Alya put her hands on her hips. "Why?" She said angrily.

"I don't know!" Cried Marinette softly.

"What do you mean you don't know, how can you not -"

"Alya! Shut it!" Said Nino.

"If she won't open up, then I'm leaving!" The girl said, heading for the trapdoor. "Goodbye!" And then she was gone. Marinette curled into the corner of her bed.

"Take two." Murmured Nino. "Marinette, can we come up." The girl didn't answer, so he decided it was a yes. The two boys climbed up until Nino sat next to Marinette, and Adrien in front of them. Adrien found himself staring at the numerous designs filling Marinette's cork board. They were...incredible. These would give his father a run for his money. Adrien brought his attention back to the situation.

"So, the list." He said dumbly.

"I'm s-ssorry." She blubered.

"No don't be sorry! I mean, like it wasn't a good thing but, um -"

"We understand that you were just letting your feelings out." Finished Nino. The blonde looked at him gladly. Adrien did not pride himself on being good with words.

"I don't, really, think - think," He took a deep breath. "I don't really think that those words would be the ones I use to describe you." He said, perhaps too fast. Marinette pushed a small smile out. A beeping sound came from her phone. Nino, being Nino reached out and got the phone, then read the message. Marinette didn't seem to mind. He flinched as he read the message.

"Who is it?" She asked.

"Alya." He said awkwardly. She grabbed the phone and read the message. She handed it back to Nino silently. They both looked at Adrien. He knew this was about him. Nino then handed the phone to Adrien, who read the message twice, to make sure it wasn't some nightmare.

_Just letting you know, the blonde rich kid in your house rejected you for some celebrity crush!_

"Is she trying to make me feel worse?" She whispered.

"Its true." Adrien whispered. "I mean, I don't like to call it a celebrity crush, but I know its true." He looked at Marinette and caught a glimpse of how hurt she truly was. "I think Alya hates me more than you do." He murmured. She heard.

"You know I don't hate you Adrien." She said. "I couldn't ever hate you." Adrien was shocked.

"But I," he paused. "I said no. I hurt you badly Mari." Adrien felt wrong calling her by her nickname, in these particular circumstances.

"Well, I mean yes I don't like what happened, but I don't hate YOU." She replied. Adrien was about to reply when his phone began to ring. He looked and saw it was his father.

"Sorry I really have to take this." He said apologetically. "Yes father?" He said, picking up the phone. "What? But I'm at Marinette's house. No, I'm staying here. But father, this is really important! I -" Adrien looked at the phone and saw that his father had hung up on him. He felt the tears prick his eyes, but held them back. Why did his father have to be like this? It was so unfair.

"Adrien?" Marinette asked. "Are you okay?" Adrien shook his head.

"I'm so sorry Marinette, my father is making me do a photoshoot in the park, in 5 minutes. I'm really sorry, I told him I couldn't leave but..." The boy quickly and subtly rubbed his eyes. Apparently not subtle enough.

"Adrien?" Marinette said again. "You don't have to feel so bad about leaving, its okay, I understand." It was Nino who spoke next.

"Its not that Mari." He said. Adrien jerked his head up.

"Dude!" He said, frustratedly. Nino shrugged.

"She told you her problems, you tell her yours." Adrien crossed his arms.

"My Father is a jerk. The end." He huffed. Nino laughed.

"Yeah, and pigs can fly. Tell her the whole story dude."

"Fine!" He began, not making eye contact with Marinette. "He hates me, he sets his expectations way to high, he only wants perfection yet he never takes the time to actually talk to me, as an actual father." He mumbled. Marinette spoke up.

"But you are perfect Adrien." He felt his cheeks flush. Marinette was too kind to him. He didn't deserve a friend like her. A horn beeped loudly. His lift was here.

"See you later!" He said, as he walked away slowly. He wished he didn't have to. He wanted to stay. But he couldn't. He closed the bakery door behind him sadly, and sat himself in the oversized car. He stared out the window, until the house was out of sight.

"His Dad neglects him. Adrien told me, that he always eats by himself!" Nino exclaimed.

"Poor Adrien!" Whispered Marinette. "I wish I could do something to help!" Nino shook his head.

"All we can do, is be the friends that Adrien needs to stick by him, to never leave him."

"I can't believe I didn't notice earlier." She gasped. Nino laughed.

"He's a model. He knows how to act happy."

Adrien stared down at the 'photographer'. The short, old, Asian photographer, who wore a red and white floral shirt.

"Mr Agreste, quick, we don't have much time, your real photographer is waiting for you nearby!" Master Fu said urgently. "I have discovered a way that the Cat Miraculous can purify Akumas!" Plagg and Adrien gasped. "If you can touch the butterfly with your baton, it will cleanse the butterfly. Then, to restore Paris, throw the baton high in the air, and yell 'Miraculous Charm!', and all damage will be erased!" He concluded excitedly. "I must be going, good day Adrien!" And with that he walked away.

"Plagg, did you hear that?!" Whisper screamed Adrien. "I can purify Akumas!"

"You mean WE can purify Akumas." The kwami corrected. "Now hurry, get to your photoshoot!"


	5. One call away

**Hello my wonderful wonderful readers! Here is another chapter of the story, I really hope you love this one! A little personal note, I've actually quoted a friend in here, from when he was going through similar things to Marinette, which made this quite emotional for me. This chapter was a tricky one to right, but here it is. Please please please leave a review for me!**

**xox Lil Em**

**Chapter 5: One call away**

Adrien couldn't wait for patrol. He was bursting to tell Ladybug the news. He knew that he has upset her, but maybe she still had the decency to forgive him. After all, they were partners. He sat nervously at his desk, drumming his fingers on the timber. He couldn't stop thinking about Marinette. He told himself that he wasn't the cause of it all, but knew that wasn't true. He needed to help her. But how? He had already paid her a visit. Normally he would buy a cake or something, but she lived in a bakery. Clothes? She made her own. What about...pictures! He remembered back to the incident with Troublemaker, where she had pictures of him on her wall. He had noticed that they weren't there anymore. Adrien grabbed his phone and scrolled through the camera roll. There were many photos of the the four friends, and he selected the ones he thought were the nicest. He narrowed it down to ten, including one of the class photos from the park, a photo from Marinette's birthday party, and of course his favorite: a photo of him next to Marinette and Alya, wearing the pigeon themed hat. He managed to print the photos, using his high tech, extremely difficult to use, photo printer. Just as he set the photos down on the desk, his phone buzzed its alarm. 9:00. Patrol time.

Marinette didn't want to go on patrol. After what happened with Cat Noir and her, she knew she wasn't ready. Nothing was going to make her go on patrol. Except a certain red kwami, who really should have been in the debating team. Within minutes, the kwami had fully convinced her. She stood on the balcony and said "Spots on!" Tikki was absorbed by the earrings, and in a flash, Marinette was Ladybug. She swung towards their regular meeting point - the Eiffel tower, to see her partner already there. Anxiety and fear hung over her, she was embarrassed about what had happened earlier. She began mentally recreating her list, making sure it was in the front of her mind.

"Ladybug!" Her partner cried cheerfully. "I have exciting news!" He was beaming, and literally jumping with joy. He seemed to have forgotten about their fight earlier on. The two subconsciously dropped onto the ground and began walking.

"Go ahead." Ladybug said, trying to hide her discomfort.

"Icancleanseakumas!" He yelled.

"What?" Asked Ladybug, not believing her ears.

"I can cleanse Akumas!" The hero said excitedly. Ladybug stopped walking.

_Useless. You're a useless Ladybug. Cat Noir would be better without you. There's nothing you can do that he can't. You will just slow him down. Because you're the worst Ladybug there ever was._

She began repeating her list in her head. She had so many flaws.

"M'lady?" She ignored her partners worried tone of voice. She couldn't do this anymore.

"Ladybug?" She was a horrible Ladybug, she endangered civilians, and her partner on a regular basis.

"LADYBUG." She gazed into the green eyes of her partner. He partner who she had failed too many times. Because that's what she was. A failure. Her cheeks flushed red, with every emotion, her eyes began to water, and her hands started to shake.

"Ladybug what's going on?" He was concerned. Concerned for her. He had wasted his time on her. She wouldn't let him waste it anymore.

"Ladybug, talk to me." Her hands moved towards her ears, towards her most treasured possession. She had to do it. Two lives was just too much. It was tearing her apart. This was for her own good, and for the good of others.

"Ladybug stop!" A black gloved hand reaching out so gently for her. Click. They were off. She said one word.

"Catch."

She threw the earrings at a confused Cat Noir. She ran. She didn't look to see if he had caught them. She didn't look to see his reaction. She only ran. She ran down the streets she had patrolled so many times. The rain began to fall heavily, soaking her, drenching her handmade clothes. She slipped and fell in the mud, but picked herself up. She was numb, emotionless, yet tears still drowned her. She saw her home, lights off. She silently stumbled through the door, and up to her room. She didn't wake her parents. She pushed her face deep into the pillow and let her sadness overwhelm her. There was no Tikki to cheer her up. There was no one. She was alone.

Cat Noir stood in the rain, on the dark streets of Paris. The two earrings were in his closed fist. He was still, yet his brain was moving like never before. It was her. All this time. It was her. She was hurt. She was broken. It was his fault. All of this was his fault. He had hurt Marinette. He had broken Ladybug.

He had ruined everything. And he didn't know how to fix it. He pulled out his baton, and opened the screen. He dialed a number.

One ring.

Two rings.

Three rings.

"Hello, who is this, and why are you awake dude?"

"Nino I need help."

Nino lay wide awake on his bed, as an all to familiar voice came from his phone.

"Where are you?" He asked seriously.

"In front of the Eiffel tower." The voice replied. Nino grabbed a hoodie and flung it on. He found an umbrella and took it, and ran out the door, opening the umbrella. He sprinted through the dark streets of Paris towards the Eiffel tower. After what seemed like forever, he arrived. He ran over to Cat Noir, and put his umbrella over the two of them.

"Where, where's Ladybug?" Nino stammered. The hero opened his fist. Nino gasped in horror.

"No, no, nononono we need to get to her now Adrien." He started to move, then stopped when Cat Noir didn't follow.

"I hurt her. So much." He said. "I rejected her, for nothing. I put her through all this pain. Without even realizing it." Nino was lost for words. He pushed the umbrella more towards the hero.

"Then let's go fix it." He said. "Its not too late yet." He looked at Cat Noir for an answer.

"All this time..." He whispered. "She's been right in front of me." Nino grabbed the hand and dragged slightly, until Cat Noir began following him. They trudged through the rain, heading in the direction of her house. It was a slow walk. Nino knew that Cat Noir was struggling to put one foot in front of the other. Of course he was. His whole life had just shifted perspective. At one point Cat Noir stumbled, and fell in a muddy puddle. But Nino helped him up, and they kept going. They reached the bakery, both drenched in rain. Nino put the umbrella down, as they walked through the unlocked door. They crept up into the familiar room, to see Marinette lying on her bed. She was crying so hard that she was shaking, yet the sound was drowned by the pillow. Nino instantly ran to her. Cat Noir was close behind. They two helped the girl into a sitting position. Her shoulders heaved up and down with every breath. Cat Noir couldn't take it. He lightly shoved Nino out of the way, and cradled his princess. Her head rested on his chest, and her hands wrapped around him. He squeezed her comfortingly, and her shaking decreased.

"Princess?" He whispered. She lifted her head to gaze up at him with her big bluebell eyes.

"I'm not your princess anymore." She replied.

"You will always be my princess." He said. "Even without the mask." Those eyes. "You have beautiful eyes." He clamped his hand over his mouth instantly. Marinette just laughed.

"Silly kitty!" She giggled softly.

"Now that I know who you are, can you tell me about the...rejection?" Cat Noir asked, hoping he hadn't pushed too hard. Her smile faded.

"I, I, uh, the I wh, th, pt, um," she blabbered. The tears continued flowing like waterfalls. She shook her head. "I'm so useless!" She cried loudly.

"No, no no no you're not, don't say that Marinette!" Said Cat Noir. He felt himself blushing. "You're actually one of the only people I feel comfortable around! As Ladybug you are strong, determined and passionate, and as Marinette you are kind, caring and friendly. You're always beautiful, and never useless. You gave me hope and happiness, you gave me a light to guide me through the night, I shall forever thank you." The words flowed from his heart, with ample sincerity. "Marinette, there's something you should know..." He trailed off. "When Adrien rejected you, he didn't want to. He had feelings for you, and another girl. But the thing is, the other girl was also you. It was Ladybug. And when he found out that you were Ladybug, his heart broke as he realized how much he had hurt you." He could see the life slowly returning in her eyes. "And everyday after he said no to you, he hated it. He wished he could say yes, but his feelings were so confusing, how could he choose one girl over the other? He couldn't. He was so unsure of everything. But then he saw the truth. The hero beneath the mask. And he weapt. He hurt you all for nothing. He wished he could go back in time and do it all again." Her mouth was open in shock.

"How do you know this?" She whispered. "Do you and Adrien talk lots?" He froze, knowing that he had said to much. He had just blurted everything out with no restraint.

"Yes, I, I check up on Adrien regularly." He said. Technically it wasn't a lie. She blushed happily, then went still.

"Wait..." She began anxiously. "Adrien knows I'm Ladybug?! No no no this isn't happening, I knew I should have been more careful! I'm so irresponsible, how could I have possible -"

"Hey hey hey, don't sweat it, how were you supposed to know that, uh, that Adrien was watching from a nearby window." Cat Noir said comfortingly. Marinette's face fell into her palms.

"I don't deserve a partner like you kitty." She whimpered. "You're so perfect! You always do what's best, even if I don't see that." Cat Noir felt himself blushing ever so slightly.

"I'm honored." He said, lost to words. "Marinette, do you mind if I make a suggestion?" She looked up cautiously and nodded.

"I guess."

"You need to believe in yourself. Over said, but true." She let out a small laugh.

"How can I believe in someone like me?" She asked. Cat Noir took a deep breath.

"Because you are so amazing. You are talented, caring, helpful, beautiful, awesome, brave, kind, loving, and most importantly, you are special." He said. Her cheeks were pink.

"You, you actually think that?" She stuttered, a warm smile tugging at her lips.

"I know that." The hero said.

"I second!" Said Nino, who had been quiet for a while now. "I have an idea!" He told Cat Noir. The two whispered, then Nino pulled out his phone. Cat Noir somehow found his own phone in his pocket. Marinette stared at the phone. It was vaguely familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on where she had seen it before. Maybe it was just at some shop. Nino held up his own phone, and showed Marinette a text he had sent Alya.

**Nino**: Hey Alya, do you think that Marinette is amazing, talented, caring, helpful, beautiful, awesome, brave, kind, loving, and special?

**Alya**: Well duh she is!

Marinette felt her cheeks heat up. She had only ever thought that her friends said that to make her feel better. But what if they were telling the truth all along?

Cat Noir's phone was being held out for her. It was a message from Rose. Same message, different response.

**Rose**: You forgot about how she is sweet, friendly, selfless, and always helping others!

Marinette felt her eyes glimmer to the heart warming response. More came through.

**Juleka**: Marinette is definitely all of those things and more!

**Kim**: yeah dude, Marinette is awesome!

**Alix**: of course she is!

**Max**: Marinette is 100% of those things.

The next contact made Adrien second guess the plan. He didn't want to make things worse. But if it worked..he decided it was worth the risk. Minutes later, he found out the truth. The risk had paid off.

**Chloe**: Well duh, that's why I don't like her, she's to perfect! Don't tell her I said that!

Cat Noir's mood was instantly improved by the smile that lit up Marinette's face. All of a sudden it faded away.

"Adrien didn't reply." She stated sadly. Cat Noir knew that this was it. The time had come. It was now or never.

"You just wait and see." He told the girl. He gave Nino a quick nod. "Claws in."


	6. The unexpected becomes reality

**Hello again awesome readers! Here is another chapter, this was way too fun to write! A quick shout out to jacobsqlatinal07, your comments were so heart warming, which is the main reason this chapter was out fairly quickly. Please keep commenting, I love it heaps! So, without further ado, enjoy!**

**xox**

**Lil Em**

**Chapter 6: The unexpected becomes reality**

Marinette closed her eyes. It was just a reflex. Her head was still processing everything that was happening. Her friends were supporting her, Chloe was revealing the truth, and Cat Noir was detransforming. But most importantly, she had found the light. She wasn't all that useless after all. She had friends who loved her, and wouldn't leave her. And each one of them had agreed with the list. The new and improved list that is. It felt like the hole in her heart had been filled in, she had been reconnect to her positive side. She felt loved. She was no longer alone. People took their time to truly care for her. Now she had to care for herself.

All these thoughts were flying through her head, as she debated whether or not she would open her eyes. They weren't supposed to know each others identities. But she had ruined that. And what did he mean by "you just wait and see!" when she asked about Adrien.

"Marinette!" She heard Nino say. "You can open your eyes now."

"Its okay!" Said another voice. That voice. She knew it was Cat Noir's. But it was also familiar. Then it hit her. She finally recognized the phone. Who else would have a phone like that? Cat Noir was...

"ADRIEN!?" She yelled, opening her eyes. The blonde model sitting next to her with an expensive phone in his hand confirmed her theory. It also made her rethink her whole life as Ladybug. She had kissed him. She had saved him. He had just hugged her. He had given her a rose. He had set up a date for her. She had fought alongside him.

She screamed.

She couldn't help it. She didn't know if it was a joyous scream, or a saddening scream. Maybe it was a combination of the two. Adrien and Nino gasped and tried to hush her. She felt her cheeks going red.

"Sorry!" She whispered. "I'm just surprised." Adrien let out a smile. His face was pure delight. He took her hand. She felt her heart beating like crazy. Adrien Agreste was holding her hand. Marinette felt herself grinning like crazy. This was actually happening. She couldn't cover up the small giggle that escaped. She just looked at Adrien sheepishly, to which he replied with a cheeky wink.

"Marinette Dupain Cheng," He began. Marinette felt butterflies in her stomach. The boy continued. "Also my amazing partner Ladybug." He looked at her with his brilliant green eyes. Marinette let out a sigh. The eyes were so mesmerizing. "Would you like to go to the movies with me tomorrow?" Marinette squealed. What was with her making weird noises tonight? The girl was unsure of everything. Her future as Ladybug, her friendship with Alya, her hatred for Chloe. She was sure of only one thing. A blonde, perfect teenager.

"Yes!" She breathed. "Yes yes YES!" She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. For what seemed like the first time in forever, she forgot about her worries. She forgot about her fears, her tears, she left it all behind. She was going to the movies with him! Adrien Agreste, her CRUSH, who happened to be her flirty partner Cat Noir, had just asked her out! "Th-th-thankyou!" She stammered. "Thank you, fo-for everything! I, I don't know what to say! Y-you just asked me out! You're so amazing. I MEAN sorry, sorry I'm rambling now aren't I..." She trailed off embarrassedly. Adrien swung his arm around her casually. Marinette felt like her heart was on fire - and Adrien was the match. Suddenly, his face was in front of her. Right in front of her. His green eyes were gazing innocently. She realized what was happening. Calming her breathing, she forced herself to stay still instead of performing her happy dance. His face got closer. And closer. And then it happened.

It was only a small kiss. He kissed her lip, she embraced it. They pulled back slightly, but only so their faces were centimeters apart. Adrien put his hands over her shoulders. She didn't know what he was doing until she felt a small click of earrings on her ear lobes. She blushed and smiled. A red kwami zoomed out of the earrings.

"Marinette I was so worried, you never do anything like that again!" Scolded the kwami. Tikki turned around and saw Adrien and Nino. She shrieked and flew under Marinette's pillow. The three laughed. Marinette turned to look at Nino, and saw that he was filming her.

"Hey! Nino!" She growled, reaching for the phone. After numerous attempts to retrieve the phone, she gave up, crossing her arms

"No fair!" She said playfully. Because she was in a playful mood. She wasn't feeling down, or sad or gloomy, she was happy and playful! Marinette couldn't remember the last time she felt like this. It was amazing. She then realized that there was something she had to do. A form of repayment. To Adrien.

She stopped suddenly, and looked Adrien directly in the eye.

"Tell me about your father." She said. She saw the flinch, the teeth grind, and the sparkle leave his eyes, as Adrien heard those words. She knew his throat was feeling suddenly tight, and his hands were evidently fidgeting nervously. Nino gave Marinette the 'good luck with that let me get some popcorn' look. She took a deep breath.

"Adrien please tell me." She said calmly. She had never felt this calm since the rejection. Calm was certainly a word she wasn't familiar with. But once again, she was reconnected with her peaceful side. She felt relaxed almost. She drew her attention back to the task at hand.

"I don't think he likes me." Adrien said, in a barley audible voice. "He never wants to spend time with me. He just likes how I look..." The boy trailed off, and stared at the designs on the wall. Covering up his distaste of the topic was pointless now.

"That's his loss." Said Marinette kindly. "And its quite a big loss." She moved a stray hair out of her face. "I mean I understand why he likes your looks." She smiled slightly, and gazed at the designs, as if imagining the old pictures. "But although your looks are fabulous, your personality is 100% better!" Adrien was taken aback by her gentleness.

"I also sometimes feel that I get lost in the Agreste clothing brand. You know, I'm just Gabriel Agreste's son, and I only wear the Agreste clothes. Like there is nothing unique about me. The only thing I can wear and feel like a normal kid is the blue scarf that he gave me." Marinette felt a wave of pride flow through her.

"I'm honored." She said. "WAIT I MEAN, honored that you like your FATHERS scarf, because your fathers scarf was a nice color, and I'm honored because I like that color. Because having the same favorite color as a famous fashion designer is really an honour -"

"Marinette I know you made it and he took it from you." She froze. "You signed it, remember!" He said, laughing. She laughed too.

"I'm sorry Adrien, I just saw you so happy and I didn't want to burst your bubble." She said. "Speaking of non Agreste clothing..." She quietly climbed down from her bed, and rummaged in a draw. "I had made this for Cat Noir," she began, throwing fabric scraps and random clothing items onto the floor. "For heroes day actually, but I didn't get the chance to give it to you." She pulled out a black lump. "Voila! Its non Agreste, and should fit you perfectly, if my measurements were correct." Adrien was extremely puzzled as too where this was going. The girl clambered back onto the bed and handed him the clothing item. As he unfolded it, he realized it was a hoodie. The back hoodie had a green paw print in the center, with green zig zag patterns embroidered around it. It was a Cat Noir hoodie.

"Marinette, this is amazing, where on earth did you find it?" He asked excitedly, whilst slipping the hoodie on. As he pulled the hood over his blonde locks, two small cat ears popped up on the top. Marinette was giggling.

"I already told you, I made it!" She said. Adrien stared at her, amazed.

"This?" He asked. "You MADE this?" She nodded.

"Does it fit okay? Do you think the green is too bright? Are the zigzags too much?" She questioned anxiously.

"Marinette, its perfect!" He exclaimed. "I'm going to wear it everyday! Even if my father says no!" He said determinedly. He loved the smile that lit up her face. "Speaking of him...I really should be going now." Marinette stared at him understandingly. She gave him a farewelling hug, as he and Nino walked away from her waving. She lay on her bed as she heard the bakery door close. She felt...different. A good different. For the first night in what seemed like forever, she fell asleep easily.

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"Adrien! Come here for a moment please!" Adrien internally groaned. He walked back from the limousine and towards his father.

"Yes father!" He said, barley resisting the urge to say it sarcastically.

"Your hoodie. That is not one of my designs. Where did you get it?" He asked, no emotion in his voice. Adrien pulled his chin up.

"Marinette made it for me! She is an aspiring designer!" He said confidently, filled with pride. His father took a step towards him.

"This craftsmanship, its rather extraordinary." Mumbled the man. "Aspiring designer?" He repeated.

"Yes. I asked her out yesterday." He said boldly. As his father jerked his head up, Adrien regretted saying anything. "Bye Father!" He said, making a run for the limo. "Go, go go!" He told his confused bodyguard. The car zoomed onto the road and out of Gabriel's sight.

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As Adrien launched himself out of the car, he spotted Marinette instantly. She was surrounded by Alya, and the other girls. He ran up to the group.

"Hey Mari!" He said, and slung his arm around her shoulder. She embraced him, and pulled him into a quick hug. As the broke apart Adrien realized that all the girls were staring at them. Alya's mouth hung open wide.

"Did you not tell them?" Adrien whispered. Marinette laughed and nodded.

"I thought it would be a nice surprise!" She said cheekily. She turned to face the others. "Oh yeah. Adrien asked me out last night." A cascade of squeals erupted from the girls, as they threw themselves upon the two.

"Girl! I can't believe you didn't text me right away!" Exclaimed Alya. Marinette flinched.

"I'm sorry, I thought you would be mad at me so..." Alya cut her off.

"I couldn't be happier! After everything that you have gone through, I'm glad you had something work out!" The two laughed, and were drowned by exited girls. In all the clutter, Marinette didn't notice Alya drag away the boy. In fact Adrien didn't realize it was happening until he felt the firm tug on his arm that almost made him fall over. All of a sudden he was away from Marinette, and next to an Alya.

"Gave up your celebrity crush?" The girl interrogated. Adrien spoke slowly, and picked his words carefully.

"Ladybug is Cat Noir's." He said. He watched her gawk, trying very hard not to laugh.

"How'd you, what, scoop, Ladyblog, uh Adrien!" The boy saluted, and returned to the crowd. He somehow managed to fish Marinette out, just as the bell rung. Hand in hand, the two raced to the classroom, where they bumped into another girl. A blonde, with a high ponytail, a yellow cardigan and expensive heels.

"Oh, hi, Chloe," Adrien began. Chloe's eyes wandered to the hand grasping onto Adrien's. Fury and rage enveloped her.

"Get off my ADRIKINS!" She screamed. Then the unthinkable happened.

Many unusual and unexpected things had happened to him in the last week. Marinette was Ladybug. He had asked her out. His dad knew it too. But what happened next was not like that. It was different.

Chloe shoved Marinette. Hard.

Marinette fell on her bum with a small "ooohf". Her hand had slipped out of Adrien's. Adrien looked in shock at where her hand had been. He stared at his empty palm. He clenched it into a fist. How dare she.

Adrien swung his arm and watched as his fist collided with Chloe's stomach. Hard.

Chloe stumbled backwards, clutching the spot where Adrien hit.

"ADRIKINS! HOW COULD YOU?!" She shrieked. She yanked one of her heels off. Adrien laughed. It was literally a glass slipper.

"Aw, I'm sorry Cinderella. Did I ruin your nails?" He teased. He regretted saying anything as he saw the shoe flying towards him. Adrien didn't have time to think. He shielded his face with his arms, as the slipper shatter upon impact. His arm immediately stung, it felt like it had been shoved into a paper shredder. Adrien stared at his bloody arm, wondering how those shoes were even legal. His arm had numerous red cuts, blood starting to drip from them. He looked at Marinette, and saw that she too had suffered. She had slices on her legs, the glass piercing her homemade pink jeans. Adrien was thankful that he had rolled his sleeves up earlier, so no damage was done to his hoodie. His arm on the other hand...

"You MORON!" He screamed. The blood began dripping onto the carpet. This of course, was when Miss Bustier decided to walk in.

"Oh my goodness, what is going on?" She asked, frantically running to the students.

"ADRIKINS PUNCHED ME!" Yelled Chloe. Adrien grinned.

"I did!" He said proudly. Miss Bustier just stared at him oddly. "But it was because she shoved Marinette!" He explained hurriedly.

"And then Chloe threw her glass shoes at Adrien!" Marinette added.

"You know what, an explanation can wait. Right now, we need to get you three to the sickbay!" The teacher exclaimed. She helped Marinette up, and the three children all walked to the sickbay, each clutching a different body part.

The nurses expression was priceless when she saw the students.

"Oh Golly!" She said. "Come in, let's get you all cleaned up!"


	7. Assistant's secret

**Hello again awesome readers! This chapter is quite different to the ones so far, and is not what I normally write, so Jere goes nothing. Also IMPORTANT NOTE: This chapter includes PTSD so if that makes you feel uncomfortable please skip this chapter. Also, do I need to up the rating because of that?**

**A lot of this chapter is from the perspective of an adult, and I don't usually write like that, so please give me feedback in the reviews section. Same thing with the PTSD, my knowledge of it comes from google and iron man 3, so let me know if my facts are wrong. Also, trypanophobia is a fear of needles, which I happen to have ;)**

**Enjoy**

**xox Lil Em**

**Chapter 7: Assistant's secret**

Adrien's arm stung as the nurse rolled a bandage around it. He had been instructed to visit the hospital, along with Marinette, to be sure there was no glass in the cuts.

"HOSPITAL!?" Gasped Marinette. "I, I can't, we can't afford that!" She looked incredibly worried. Adrien was about to tell her that he would pay, when the nurse spoke.

"Oh don't worry dear!" She comforted. "Miss Bourgeois caused it, she will pay for it. Don't sweat it honey!"

"Pay for Mari-trash?!" Chloe spat. "I'm not sure my daddy would like to hear this!" The nurse winced.

"We'll figure out a way!" She whispered. "Now, I believe your teacher has called each of your parents - yes even yours Chloe. Miss Dupain Cheng, and Mr Agreste, you too can get driven by your parents to the hospital. Miss Bourgeois... You need to no medical treatment. Your injuries are not serious, just ice it if it hurts." Chloe stared at the nurse with shock and anger.

"Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!" She said, and stormed out of the room. Almost as soon as she was gone, Marinette's mother ran in.

"Oh Mari, are you ok?" She asked, scrambling around her daughter.

"I'm fine mum!" Answered Marinette. "It only stings a bit." Sabine looked at her daughter with eyes full of care. Adrien felt his heart break at the longing for some like that. He tightened his throat to hold back the emotion. _Keep it in. _He told himself._ Keep it in_. _Don't let it out. Keep it_ -

"Dear, are you ok?" And the caring eyes were upon him. He broke. The single tear escaped, followed by a cascade. Instantly the two Dupain Cheng's were by his side.

"Not physical pain is it?" Sabine asked knowingly. Adrien's silence was an obvious answer. The lady opened her arms. Adrien couldn't help but embrace the mum hug. How long it had been since he had received one of these. Marinette came and kneeled next to him. He remained still in her arms for a while. Enough time to comprehend all his thoughts. He knew his father wasn't coming. He had no mother to come. Perhaps Nathalie. He realized how he had taken Nathalie for granted. She had stepped in for his mum, and despite everything, she genuinely cared.

Speak of the devil.

The assistant came sprinting through the door. Adrien had never seen her run so fast. Adrien had never seen her run at all! He face was filled with anxiety, she stood panting, out of breath. The three turned to look at her, but did not break the hug.

"Adrien, I -" she stuttered, trying to find the right words. "I tried to tell him, but he was in his meeting and he is too far away, and he doesn't want to come all the way back -"

"I get it." Adrien said, unable to disguise his sadness. The room was silent. The group waited patiently for the nurse to return.

"Tom will meet us at the hospital." Sabine informed Marinette. The girl nodded distractedly, still staring at Adrien. She couldn't bare to see him this upset. She pulled the black hood over the boys head, causing the black cat ears to pop up. Nathalie noticed the jumper.

"That's not trademark Agreste clothing." She observed.

"Yeah..." Mumbled Adrien. Nathalie paused.

"I think it suits you." She said kindly. Adrien gave her a thankful smile. He finally broke apart from Sabine and stood up.

"Um, Nathalie," He said awkwardly. The assistant nodded.

"Thanks for taking care of me." He said, rubbing the back of his neck, and not making eye contact. Nathalie felt honor flowing through her. She walked over to the boy.

"Thank you for being the angel you are." She replied gently. It was at this moment that the nurse returned.

"Go ahead now," she began, handing Nathalie and Sabine a document. The two briefly glanced at it, before signaling Marinette and Adrien to follow them to the car.

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Nathalie watched the young boy through the mirror. His face was plastered to the window, watching the world fly by. He looked somewhat content. Yes he had an injured wrist. Yes he was on the way to the hospital. But he looked happy. Nathalie knew hat he deserved it. After all the pain he faced at home, he deserved a ray of sunshine. So, when a beautiful, kind girl entered the boys life, Nathalie had been thrilled. She had to admit, she never expected it to be the baker girl, but whatever made Adrien happy had to be right. She turned a corner and the hospital came into sight. The large building had numerous signs, directing vehicles and people. Nathalie steered the limousine through a wide entry, and into the car park. She parked, taking up two parking spaces. Glancing in the mirror Nathalie saw Adrien still gazing out the window. She sighed, perhaps too loudly, and clicked off her seatbelt. Adrien did too, opening the car door, as if programmed to. He slammed the door shut, and followed Nathalie. She gulped, feeling far too much like Gabriel. She stopped and turned around.

"Adrien - would you like to lead the way?" The boy looked confused, but shrugged his shoulders anyway. He walked in front of her, towards the hospital doors. Each step made Nathalie more and more nervous. She hadn't been to a hospital in a long time. She shivered, but told herself it was just the cold. They stood in front of the registration desk, where they once again met up with the Dupain Chengs. Marinette and Adrien smiled, and began chatting with each other. The boy looked so relaxed. The receptionist arrived, and Nathalie and Sabine explained the situation, showing the documents from the nurse. The woman nodded, and began to explain the procedure.

"We'll do some X-rays, which will show if any glass is caught in the wound. Before that we'll have to do a quick blood test on the two, but that won't take long." Nathalie froze. She looked at Adrien, glad that he hadn't heard.

"Yes." She said to the nurse, barley registering the situation.

"Please take a seat, we should be quick!" The nurse instructed. Nathalie immediately walked over to Adrien.

"Adrien." The boy turned around, hearing her serious tone. "They need a blood test." The color drained form the boys face. He looked like he was about to faint.

"No no no." He mumbled anxiously. "Please no, I, I can't please don't make me do that,"

"I can't do anything Adrien." The boy clawed at his hair, then ran to Marinette for comfort, as if he were disappointed in Nathalie. The woman sat down in a nearby chair, extremely stressed. Adrien's trypanophobia wasn't a new thing. Ever since his first blood test went wrong, he couldn't cope with taking needles. They had avoided it for so long, but Nathalie knew that some day he would have to face his fears. She didn't know how long she had been sitting for, but suddenly a nurse was calling for Adrien and Marinette. Nathalie stood up and stopped abruptly. It was _that_ nurse. Nathalie glanced at her palms, evidently shaking now.

_Keep it together_ she told herself, pushing her hands into her thighs, in an attempt to stop the shaking. Taking trembling steps, she followed the small group into a room. Adrien needed her. She had to control herself. She entered the room, barley away of the world around her. She glanced at the nurse again. A mistake.

_Nurses and doctors running, driving the bed through the halls. Uncertainty. A sign read __**Emergency surgery**_

Nathalie shook her head._ Stop it!_ She told herself. She stared at Adrien. He began to appear blurry. Nathalie felt dizzy, yet was vividly aware of her trembling legs.

_Worried looks. Only medical professionals. No one else._

She dragged herself to the nearby chair. "Nathalie?" A voice said.

_"Were sorry." They said. "We did all we could. He was dead by the time we got to him."_

Her head was pounding, her throat was constricting, her hands were like flames of fire, ever moving, never still.

_The body was still. Statue like. Lifeless._

Vomit flowed out her mouth before she could stop it. Nurses rushed at her, but she held up her hand to send them off, and instead ran to the bathroom.

What had she done?

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Adrien stared in horror at the pool of vomit on the floor. His brain as still processing what had just happened. Nurses were quickly mopping the mess up, but Adrien knew that those memories would never be cleaned away. Just as he thought he had got over his shock, he saw his nurse holding a needle. Instantly he began panting, water falling from his eyes. Marinette was by his side in a second, squeezing his shoulders comfortingly. The blue eyes gazed at green, and Adrien felt himself lost in their divine beauty, almost sparking. He noticed the prick, but didn't let it draw him away, instead, he used the eyes as a distraction, letting his fears dissolve.

Before he knew it, the blood test was over.

He felt ever so joyous, knowing he had conquered his biggest fear. He hugged the girl tightly wishing he never had to let go of her amazing body. She hugged him back, so he planted a small kiss on the top of her head. He didn't have to look to know she was blushing. Thoughts overwhelmed Adrien's brain, the needles, Natalie, his father, but he used Marinette as his refuge, burying his wet face into her soft blue hair. Marinette. His Lady.

The nurses ushered the two out. One at a time they had their X-rays. Results: all clear.

"Patch the cuts up, and ring us if there are any signs of infection." The nurse said. "But other than that, you are all clear. Have a nice day." Adrien began walking out when he remembered Nathalie. He nudged Marinette.

"Where's Nathalie?" He whispered. She gasped.

"I feel so bad, I almost forgot!" She said. "Mama -"

"She's in the waiting room." Sabine said awkwardly. Adrien let go of Marinette's hand and ran down the hallway. People stared at him oddly, but he continued. He skidded around a corner, and almost fell over as he tried to stop. He saw dark hair with a streak of red, and immediately sprinted in that direction. No sooner than he arrived did Nathalie stand.

"Adrien, I'm so sorry, I should have been there for you," she began. Adrien shook his head, in disagreement and disbelief.

"No, no its ok." He was amazed at the raw emotion the woman had shown. He had seen more of her in 10 minutes than in his lifetime. He inhaled. "Are you -"

"I'm fine Adrien. We must go home now, you have a photoshoot to prepare for." She said, cutting him off, as if stepping back into the body of an assistant. She strutted towards the car, like she was running away from her problems. Adrien rubbed his forehead. He needed to get to the bottom of this.

Marinette caught up to the boy soon after his outburst of energy. She saw him watching Nathalie walking away. Her heart broke when she saw the confusion in his face.

"Adrien." She called. He turned around and put on his model smile.

"Ready to go?" He said, obviously hiding the cracks in his voice. Marinette sighed. She knew what was wrong with Nathalie, she had seen it in people before. But it wasn't her place to speak. Not yet at least. She knew she couldn't keep a secret from Adrien.

"Ready as ever!" She said, copying his fake enthusiasm. Adrien waved at her with a wonky smile, and ran after Nathalie. Marinette pulled out her phone and clicked on her most used contact. Her finger hit the green phone icon next to the name.

"Hey dude." Came the voice.

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"Are you sick?"

"No."

"Then why did you throw up?"

"I had a big breakfast."

"You skipped breakfast." Nathalie was getting annoyed at the interrogation that Adrien was giving her.

"And why were your hands shaking?"

"IT WAS COLD. Now stop asking que-"

"Then why were you also sweating?" Nathalie slammed the breaks as they arrived at the mansion.

"Because you asking too many questions was making my blood boil. Go get changed for the shoot!" She said exasperatedly. Adrien huffed, and mumbled something under his breath, but followed her instructions.

He was in his room when he heard his phone ring. He picked it up. It was Nino.

"Hello?" Adrien said. He put Nino on speakerphone so he could continue getting dressed.

"Hey dude! How are you doing?"

"Fine. The X-ray showed I was all clear. I still get the day off school though!" He added cheekily.

"No fair!" Complained Nino. "Um, but on a more serious note," That caught Adrien's attention. "Marinette asked me to ring you. About Nathalie." Adrien jerked his head up.

"W-what about Nathalie?" He stuttered nervously, yet also in anticipation.

"Um, well there's this thing called PTSD,"

Nathalie gasped silently as she pressed her ear closer to the door. How did the kid know? How did Marinette figure it out? And why would she tell the DJ kid?

"It means post traumatic stress disorder, and its basically the after effect of a really bad thing." Nathalie was gobsmacked.

"Nathalie has a mental illness?" Asked Adrien.

"Uh yeah. Marinette just thought you should know." Nino replied.

"But why did she ask you?" Asked Adrien, interrogation mode kicking in once again.

"Uh dude -"

"Because you know alot about it."

"Where are you going with this -"

"Because you have it too."

"No I don't! Well I did but - damn your detective skills Adrien! Bye." Nino hung up. Nathalie burst in. Adrien jumped.

"Nathalie you scared me." The boy exclaimed. Without a word the woman grabbed the phone and walked back out, leaving a very puzzled Adrien. She stormed into her small bedroom and locked the door. She pressed some buttons on the phone, and a ringing sound erupted from it.

"If this is about -"

"Hello child."

"Wait...you're not Adrien."

"Correct. I am Nathalie Sancoeur."

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Nino drummed his fingers on the table nervously.

Adrien had just found out his biggest secret.

Sure it didn't matter now. He had gotten over it years ago. Thanks too Marinette. But he was still insecure about it. And he knew Adrien would want to talk to him about it. His phone rung. Adrien. Again. Letting out a long sign, he realized that procrastination would only make things worse. He picked up the call.

"If this is about -" he was cut off by an unfamiliar, and not very Adrien like voice.

"Hello child." Nino practically threw the phone across the room. Recovering shakily, he put the phone to his ear.

"Wait...you're not Adrien." He said dumbly. He knew that whoever was on the other end of the line was face palming and rolling their eyes.

"Correct," The voice said. "I am Nathalie Sancoeur." Nino felt his body go rigid. Nathalie. _The_ Nathalie. Gabriel's super strict, super scary assistant was on the phone. With him.

What had he done?

**All will be revealed next chapter, including the core of Nathalie's PTSD. Thanks for reading!**


	8. Truth or dare gone wrong

**PLEASE DONT KILL ME! Ok guys, I know this is suuuuuper late, but I was having a really hard time writing it so it took a while. Truth is: I'm running out of ideas. Where do you guys want this story to go? Please give me some ideas! Anyways, I hope you like this chapter. Thanks again for reading, y'all are amazing!**

**~Lil Em**

**Truth or dare gone wrong**

"What if I made him feel uncomfortable? What if Nathalie finds out? What if -"

"Marinette!" The kwami interrupted. "I'm sure everything will work itself out! Stop stressing about that, and start brainstorming ideas for that date!" Marinette felt her jaw drop.

"Oh my gosh, Tikki, in all the chaos I forgot! I'm so bad!"

"Marinette!"

"Ok, you're right Tikki, no negative thoughts!" Marinette said, attempting to change her mindset.

"That's my girl!" Tikki encouraged, as Marinette pulled put a sheet of paper and a pen.

"He said a movie right? But what kind of movie? Most couples would watch a romantic one, but what if Adrien doesn't like romance, what does he like, what if he likes those biographical films. What if he doesn't like sci-fi, or fantasy, or super heroes, or comedy, what if we have two super different tastes in movie?! What if he's changed his mind? What if he doesn't want to go to the movies at all? What if he doesn't want to date me at all?! He probably thinks -"

*Ring! Ring!*

Marinette picked up the phone so fast it almost slipped out of her hands.

"Adrien?" She said hopefully.

"Unless Adrien runs the Ladyblog and is dating Nino, I don't think I'm him." Marinette laughed.

"What do you want Alya?" She asked.

"We're having a class party thing at Alix's house tonight. Starts at seven o'clock. Want to come?"

"Um sure." She felt herself blushing. "Is Adrien going?" She heard Alya laughing on the other end.

"He hasn't answered his phone yet, but I'll let you know if I hear from him. See you there Mari!"

"See you. Bye." She cut off the call. "Tikki," she stammered. The kwami flew over.

"Yes Marinette?"

"What am I going to wear?"

"I don't know? But you should definitely wear something you made!"

"What do I ever wear that I haven't made Tikki?" The girl said, throwing over her wardrobe.

Navy floor length dress with rhinestones? "Nope!" She sung, throwing the garment over her shoulder. Emerald spaghetti strap knee length? Nope. Sky blue skirt with bird embroidery? Nope. The process continued, with the floor becoming increasingly littered with dresses, skirts and blouses. After what seemed like forever,she found what she was looking for. The scarlet blouse matched the black knee length skirt, with her signature gray jacket. Simple but stunning. Tikki giggled.

"Marinette, those are your Ladybug colors!" The kwami explained, causing the girl to look down at her outfit and laugh.

"I hadn't even noticed!" She said. "What a coincidence."

Alya glanced down at her outfit nervously. She didn't want to overdo it, but wanted to still look nice. She wore a deep pink short dress, which had spaghetti straps. Small dimantes highlighted the neckline, matched with her ladybug charm necklace. Her hair was in a bun, and she had given herself a small amount of makeup. She gazed at her reflection in the mirror. This would please Nino, right? It would. It had too. She saw a notification pop up on her laptop. It was a message from Adrien.

I can come! Is Marinette going?

Alya smirked. She knew that the lovebirds would be together in no time. They were perfect for each other. She quickly typed a reply, before grabbing her purse, and running out of the room. She wanted to be early, for she knew that tonight would be one full of surprises.

She walked to Alix's house quickly. Alya pressed the doorbell, and was greeted by a familiar pink haired girl. Alix, in contrast to Alya, cared very little about her appearance. She wore an oversized skating hoodie with Nike shorts, and sneakers.

"Come on in!" She said enthusiastically.

~some time later~

"Sorry I'm late!" Cried Marinette, bursting into the room. She was the last one to arrive, which was a surprise to no one. Of course Adrien's eyes shot out of his head as he was once again overwhelmed by her beauty. But that was to be expected.

"Marinette!" Exclaimed Alya, rushing over to her friend. "Your just in time, come sit down!" She said, gesturing towards the circle of students on the floor.

"What are we playing?" Asked Marinette curiously.

"Truth or dare!" Shrieked Rose. "Who is going first?"

"Me!" Screamed Kim, making everyone jump.

"Go ahead." Murmured Alix. Kim spun the empty bottle. It landed on Nino.

"Truth or dare?" Asked Kim smugly.

"I'll go truth." Answered Nino. Kim thought for a moment.

"What's your biggest fear?" Nino's face went red.

"Um," he began. "Death." He admitted quietly. Alya wrapped her arm around him.

"Your turn babe." She said. Nino spun the bottle, and it landed on Adrien. Nino grinned cheekily.

"Truth or dare Adrien?"

"Truth."

"You are all chickens!" Yelled Kim. Nino ignored him.

"If you were to go out with a girl here that isn't Marinette, who would it be?"

"Alya, because she is one of my closest friends." Alya smiled.

And so the game continued. Marinette was dared to sit in Adrien's lap for the rest of their game, not that she minded! Alya posted a dumb selfie on the Ladyblog, Nathaniel admitted to releasing his worries through sketching, and Rose gave away her crush on Prince Ali.

"Truth or dare?" Asked Rose to Alya, for her second turn.

"Dare!" Said Alya excitedly. Rose thought for a while, but eventually gave up.

"I don't know!" She whimpered. Kim shot his hand up.

"Let me choose! I have a great one!" Rose nodded.

"Sure."

"Alright Alya, I hope its not too scary for you!" Alya snorted.

"I'm not afraid of anything!" She said confidently. Kim smirked mischievously.

"I dare you to obey me for the rest of the game." Alya's smile wavered, but only for a millisecond.

"So basically like your slave? I accept!" Kim let out a very evil sounding laugh.

"Good. First order: you will respond to slave, and call me master." Alya rolled her eyes.

"Yes master." She said sarcastically.

"Come massage my feet!"

"What?!" Alya gasped.

"Uh-uh, no questions!" Alya crossed her arms, but obeyed Kim. The class giggled at the sight of Alya taking orders from Kim. "Now, no misbehaving! Or there will be consequences! No rude comments, no poorly done tasks, or I will... Well, I can't ruin the surprise" Everyone burst out laughing.

"Your turn to spin the bottle Alya!" Said Rose. Kim interrupted.

"Slave, you must give your turn to Nino!" Said Kim. Alya gawked.

"Hmph. Fine!" She said, as she massaged Kim's feet. Nino spun the bottle, and it landed on, of course, Kim."

"Dare!" He exclaimed. "And know that I have complete control over your girlfriend."

"Well Kim," Nino began. "You have let it slip that you are crushing on someone in this room. I dare you to go kiss them." Kim's face was as red as Marinette's shirt.

"You can't, no, um, slave..." Kim stammered. Nino just shook his head.

"No getting out of this one." Kim groaned.

"You'll regret this!" He said getting to his feet. He walked over to the girl, whilst the whole class gasped. He planted a light kiss on her cheek, and went back to his seat.

Alix's hand hovered over the spot where Kim's lips had just touched.

"Ahem." Coughed Max. "Moving on."

"Wait!" Said Kim. "My slave needs to be punished for her boyfriend's deeds. And I have just the idea. Slave, how do you feel about entertaining us, with singing and dancing?"

While the class was deciding on what song Alya would sing, Marinette was watching the unusually quiet roller skater. Marinette shuffled over to the girl. Alix saw Marinette approaching her, and quietly walked away, into what Marinette guessed to be her bedroom. The bluenette followed worriedly. She knocked on the door, and received no answer, so opened it. There was Alix, sitting with her knees pulled into her chest, on he bed. She wasn't crying, Alix never cried, but it was obvious that she was in emotional pain. The girl didn't flinch, so Marinette guessed that Alix had expected her arrival.

"Hey Alix," Marinette began timidly.

"Go away!" Came a muffled reply. Marinette the remained where she was.

"Why are you upset?" She asked.

"I'm not!" Growled Alix. "Go away!"

"Alix please tell me what made you sad, I can -"

"I SAID GO AWAY!" She yelled, throwing a pillow at Marinette. The uncoordinated girl somehow managed to avoid the hit.

"Alix I'm just trying to help you!" Marinette said, more forcedly. Alix shook her head.

"I don't need your help, I don't need anyone's help just leave me alone for a few minutes ok?"

"No, no not ok, you can talk to me about it, please I want to help."

"You don't need to get involved, this is my personal business, and I don't need you pushing your way in. So, I will say this one last time: go away!" Marinette gave up, not knowing what else she could possible do.

"You know what? Fine! But don't come crying to me when you want your dummy." She yelled, with a bit too much sass. Before she had enough time to witness the reaction, Marinette slipped out of the room. She leaned against the door defeated when she heard a barley audible whisper.

"Fine, come in." Said Alix. Marinette didn't need to be told twice, she flung the door open and was next to Alix in no time. Marinette stared at Alix's face. So many emotions could only mean one thing.

"Is this about when Kim -"

"Yes," snapped Alix. "Got a problem with that?" Marinette shook her head quickly.

"No, not at all. Do you want to expand?" She pried

"Do I need to?" Marinette took a breath, it was taking a lot of energy to be patient with the girl.

"Do you like Kim?" She asked cautiously, hoping she hadn't pushed to hard. The reaction from Alix was not what she expected.

"No way!" She said loudly. This puzzled Marinette. She must have had a confused expression, because Alix decided to explain further. "That's the thing, I don't like Kim, I mean he's a good friend, but no more. I don't want to crush his heart though, because that would crush our friendship!" She blurted.

Nino was not having a good time. The conversation he had just had with Nathalie was playing on his mind. It was scary. She had told him not to say anything to Adrien. He had agreed, fearing the consequences he would face if he said no. Then, the assistant told her story. It was awkward for Nino, an adult seeking guidance in a teenager, but eventually the emotion took over. He felt himself grieving for the woman, her side of the story so traumatizing, for the first time Nino caught a glimpse into her life. She was in a bad place. She had no one to talk her, and a job at risk. Nino felt himself connecting with her, on a very personal level. He had been distracted ever since, with thoughts and worries giving him a headache.

He felt a nudge on his shoulder. A voice.

"Earth to Nino?" Adrien waved a hand in front of Nino's face.

"Huh?" Nino didn't want to talk to people right now, he just wanted to be alone. "Um, excuse me Adrien, I have to go, bathroom, go to the bathroom yes bye." He said hurriedly. Adrien tilted his head to the side as he watches his best friends walk away.

He hasn't said dude once in that whole sentence. Something was going on.


	9. Love hurts

**Hey y'all, here's the next chapter! Its not my favorite one but I struggled with the writing of this one, so I'll be happy to edit if if you leave me a review saying what I should change. Thanks again for staying with this story, I love you guys!**

**~Lil Em 04**

**Disclaimer: I sadly don't own Miraculous Ladybug, and I don't own the song that is used in here either. Its "Say Something" by A Whole New World, not by me. **

**Chapter 9: Love Hurts**

"Fine, but I get to choose the song!" Demanded Alya. Kim waved his hand.

"Whatever." He said, handing Alya the phone. Alya took it, and began scrolling through the songs. She looked up and saw Nino hurriedly making his way to the bathroom. She sighed. She felt like she had barley talked to him ever since the whole Marinette thing. She had envied Marinette when Adrien gave her 1000 compliments about her outfit. Nino had barley looked at her. And now he had just left the room. She wanted to sing to him, for him, but now she couldn't. Alya finally decided, and clicked on a song full of emotion. Maybe this would make Nino notice her. The song began to play, the phone trembling in her hand. Just do it! She told herself. She began to sing.

"Say something I'm giving up on you." At first her voice clashed with the singer, but she quickly switched keys and fixed the problem. "I'll be the one if you want me too." She stared at the phone, not wanting to look at the others. "Anywhere I would have followed you." She felt a flow of raw emotion, and her voice became a passionate in tune yell.

"Say something I'm giving up on you." Alya continued singing, not looking up, emotions giving the song another level of depth. At one stage, she realized that Kim wasn't laughing. She took a small peek at him and realized that he was staring, bewildered at her, as if he hasn't expected this. Then the bridge hit.

"And I," she sang. "Will swallow my pride." Immense sadness overwhelmed her, as she felt the true meaning of the words. "Your the one that I love." She began to feel a tightness in her throat, knowing what was coming next.

"And I'm saying goodbye." Her eyes began to well up before she could hold it in. She couldn't say goodbye. But could he? Was Nino saying-

"Say something I'm giving up on you!" She cried, waterfalls cascading down her face. "I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you. Anywhere I would have followed you," She felt her heart rate increasing. Why had she decided to do this song? "Say something I'm giving up on you." Her voice was a whisper now, as she breathed the final line of the song.

"Say something." The final notes hung in the air. No one spoke. Alya stared hard at the empty place next to Adrien. It had been unoccupied the whole time. Alya glared at the floor. She was embarrassed.

No one spoke. The room was silent. After a long awkward silence, Adrien walked towards her and guided her into the kitchen, one hand on her shoulder, the other around her waist. The others didn't follow, they knew better than that. Alya leaned against the bench, sobbing, accepting the tissues Adrien handed her, the tears not stopping.

Adrien stood awkwardly yet comfortingly, like the all important shoulder to cry on. He waited patiently for her to regather herself, and didn't seem bothered when it took a while. After too long, the tears finally ceased to exist. Alya took a deep yet shaky breath.

"Are you ok?" Adrien asked. He seemed like he was reluctant about saying anything, but the concern on his face had said otherwise. Alya managed a nod when another figure scrambled into the room. The last person she wanted to see. Alya turned away instantly. Adrien frantically gestured for Nino to not come closer. Nino disagreed.

"Hey babe, what's up are -" Adrien was on him is seconds, practically pushing the DJ away.

"Give her space." He ordered, not loud enough for Alya to hear.

"What happened, what's going -" Adrien closed the door on Nino's face before he could finish his sentence. Then he waved sheepishly at Alya.

"Sorry about that." He said. Alya shook her head sadly.

"Not your fault." She told him. Of course it wasn't Adrien's fault. It was her fault, all her fault. The lyrics of the song still played in her mind, that line "I'm saying goodbye" was repeating over and over again. Alya told herself it was just the tune, but she knew she was lying to herself. This hadn't been the first time that she wondered if Nino wanted to break up, the way she was very rarely his first priority, how he would spend all his time on others, how he was almost completely oblivious to her actions. The truth was, she missed him. She wanted him so bad but it was like she could no longer have him. Like he was avoiding her.

Alya stood up abruptly. She couldn't let some boy destroy her. She was brave, she was confident, nothing could get in her way.

"I'm ready." She said to Adrien. He looked at her questioningly, definitely not believing her, but didn't make any effort to stop her. She walked out the door, holding her chin up high, ready to reunite with her classmates. There they were. Kim ran up to her.

"Alya, I'm really sorry I didn't realize that..." He trailed off, not really knowing what to say. Alya nearly laughed, the sight of Kim being lost for words was not something that she saw often.

"All good!" She told him. He stared at her, as if silently thanking her. She just nodded, only just keeping all the emotions that were flying around in her brain, under control. She felt like she could explode.

A loud thumping noise distracted her. She looked towards the sound, and saw Marinette bounding down the stairs. The girl raced towards Alya, nervous and apologetic.

"Alya I'm so sorry, I didn't realize that, and then Nino came up to me and," Alya's body went rigid at the mention of Nino. She didn't want anything to so with him right now, she needed space.

"I think I might go home now." She said, cutting Marinette off. She looked hesitantly at Adrien. "Could you come with me, I need to talk it out I think." The boy looked nervously at Marinette.

"I couldn't do tonight anyway." She told the boy. Alya had no idea what the context was, but she knew that it meant Adrien would be able to comfort her. Wait a second. Wasn't Marinette going to go on a date tonight. Alya shook her head at her forgetfulness.

"Um, actually never mind, I'm really tired and want to just sleep, so yeah don't worry about it." She lied.

"No, Alya I can come, really -" but Alya was already out the door.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Alix was left alone in her room. Why did everything have to be so...complicated? Love ruined everything, it changed people, it tore them apart. Why did it have to ruin her friendships. She fiddled with her skate charm necklace angrily. She didn't see the purple butterfly until it was upon her.


End file.
